Rte. 9 bridge in Framingham dedicated to late highway worker

Gregory B. Vilidnitsky had the qualities of an ideal civil engineer. He was meticulous, dedicated to working long hours to complete a job and took pride in his work, his colleagues recalled Wednesday.

By Brian Benson/Daily News staff

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Posted Jun. 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 13, 2013 at 1:05 PM

By Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Posted Jun. 13, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 13, 2013 at 1:05 PM

FRAMINGHAM

» Social News

Gregory B. Vilidnitsky had the qualities of an ideal civil engineer.

He was meticulous, dedicated to working long hours to complete a job and took pride in his work, his colleagues recalled Wednesday.

"It was never an actual job for him," said his son, Boris Vilidnitsky, 29. "It was what he did full-stop…. At times my mom and I would think he didn’t want to come home. He truly enjoyed it."

Gregory Vilidnitsky died in 2010 after a drunk driver struck him while he was working along Rte. 9 near the Framingham/Southborough border, but his memory will never be forgotten as state and local officials Wednesday dedicated the Rte. 9 bridge over the Sudbury River in his memory.

Vilidnitsky, 57, who lived on the Framingham/Natick border, was struck by a pickup truck while working on a paving project. He also helped construct the bridge farther east on Rte. 9 that now bears his name.

Maine resident Jeremy Gardner pleaded guilty to driving drunk and vehicular homicide charges stemming from the incident and has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

State Rep. Chris Walsh, D-Framingham, said Vilidnitsky, fellow transportation workers and police officers "spend a lot of time making the world a safer place for us to drive our cars."

Drivers, though, "don’t always recognize how important and how dangerous this job can be," Walsh said.

State Department of Transportation Secretary Richard Davey said it is a bittersweet day.

"We’re reminded that for our customers who are driving on the roads, (and) for our police and contractors, safety has to continue to be our number one priority," Davey said.

Transportation officials, working with the Executive Office of Public Safety and state police, began in 2011 the Work Zone Speed Enforcement program through which teams of troopers can be deployed to 24 work sites on a given day to enforce speed restrictions. Between April 5 and May 26, state police made 112 stops and issued 101 speeding citations as part of the program, according to a MassDOT press release.

"Nothing good comes out of an incident like this," Highway Administrator Frank DePaola said, adding the agency has a "renewed focus on safety of workers in work zones. …In memory of Greg, we are focused on preventing these types of incidents from happening again."

DePaola said Gregory Vilidnitsky, who began working for the agency in 2008, had been advancing quickly and was well-liked by everyone.

"We lost a really great guy and a good engineer," said Mike Sholock, a state engineer who worked with Gregory Vilidnitsky.